unit 7 the English countryside(3)

Reading Comprehension and Language Activities

1. Warm-up questions and discussion

Studying the following words and phrases; select the ones that can be applied to describe the views in your places; and imagine which of them can be used to describe the English countryside. bush rivers meadow lawn coast beach the wilderness footpath brookvalley lowland upland cliffs stream landscape rural pasture rice-paddy cultivated land

2. Read the text and try their best to answer the questions .

location of most English villages

hills , clustered about its ancient church .)

description of English farmers’ homesteads

sheltered by ample trees , with broad fields , and a river flowing not far away . ) importance of the village rivers in the English countryside

(The rivers in English villages are generally small and insignificant, judged by Continental standards. No national songs are composed for them as in the case of olga , the Danube or the Rhine .)

sometimes catch fish , and they permit of come homely occupations such as gathering watercress or the growing of osiers for basket-weaving . On summer evenings , men can lean over weirs to watch the swallows flying across the clear water under the bridges . These rivers influence the lives of people near them in most subtle and sensuous way . )

Where did the writer once live ?

y couldn’t he see the mountains in the distance ?

time , the mountains might be hidden by mist and cloud , so he

sight could clearly follow the course of the river down to its wide muddy